There was an article in one of the Chinese newspapers today, on Sun Lu Tang and "lightness skills" 輕功. Here is my translation below. Although many marital arts novels talk about this phenomena, most moderns tend to dismiss it as the overactive imagination of our predecessors. However there were many records of kung fu masters demonstrating light skills in the 1920s and 1930s of which the most well known was Sun Lu Tang.
We do not lack for aerial acrobatic performances in the modern era, but according to those of deep spiritual cultivation, if you are able to open the macroscopic orbit in your body, you will be able to levitate, but as the practitioner is no longer bound by the rules of biology and physics and this exceeds the abilities of normal man, spiritual practitioners will not lightly demonstrate this skill. During the Republican era, Sun Lu Tang himself said that he had achieved the Dao through martial arts practice.
Sun Lu Tang's (1860-1933) birth name was Sun Fu Quan 孫福全 and was born in Wan County in Hebei Province (currently part of Wang Du County). He was a master of Xingyi, Baguazhang and Taiji and the founder of Sun Style Taiji. He was a well known martial artist with the nickname "The First Hand under Heaven" 天下第一手.
According to the Society Daily 《社會日報》 - 1930年5月11日 the author Xiang Kai Ran 向愷然 relates, "Although Sun Lu Tang was born in Hebei his reputation was respected across the nation. In addition to his skills in Xingyi, Bagua and Taiji, he was also taught by some unusual people, one of who was called Chen Letian 陳樂天 whose skill was to be able to fly in the sky, and he transmitted this skill to Sun. Sun was able to use this skill in the North East, to escape from an explosion by jumping off a steep cliff, while helping the troops stationed there to rid the area of bandits.
In the previous year in Beijing, a number of masters from Shanghai related that Sun Lu Tang had jumped over the walls of the forbidden palace, and was the talk of the capital. Although I had heard this I was personally suspicious of its veracity.
At the beginning of the year Sun Lu Tang had come to Shanghai to teach at the Jian De Savings Association 儉德儲蓄會 and I had gone to listen. Sun said that the foundation of martial arts was how to use the Shen and the Qi. The audience did not understand and asked Sun to demonstrate, and so he leapt into the air and moved flew backwards and forwards in the space of the hall, he was like the wind and it was difficult to discern his shape until he finally landed safely on the ground.
I was greatly surprised, and heard the rising sound of applause, and it was like waking from a dream, and finally believed that there was an art of flying using the Qi of the body. This is the use of the Shen and the Qi, and requires the cultivation of the heart and the emotions, if the heart and emotions are not suppressed, this results in an expenditure of energy. Thus one must understand the importance of cultivation in your daily life, and it is not something that can be achieved by brute strength.
Sun Lu Tang has always been universally acclaimed, to be able to see such achievements in the art today, there are no others who can compare to him."
2) According the the magazine of the Central Guoshu Academy 《國術週刊》 and the Records of Great Guoshu Masters 《國術名人錄》，they both recorded that that "Sun Lu Tang was able to squeeze through narrow spaces and bridge large expanses, and was able to move like a god on a knife's edge. And thus he was famous in the area of Yan Zhao, and none did not know the living monkey Sun Lu Tang.
The son of the Qing Minister 鹿傳霖 Jizi, who loved martial arts and enjoyed riding horses, went to visit Master Sun. One day Jizi received a new horse, and asked Sun to accompany him to try out the horse in the countryside. Jizi rode first, like the frost chasing the wind, he rode with all his ability, and upon return asked Master Sun to try out the horse.
Sum demurred and said I am not proficient at riding, he waited for Jizi to ride a few more rounds, frowned and said that he should try his utmost to catch him. Upon that point Jizi adjusted the saddle to jump the horse, and hastened it on with the whip. Sun waited for the horse to run several bows' length, and then jumped on its back, like a flying swallow through the curtain, as a dragonfly skipping on the water, he placed both hands lightly on Jizi's shoulder. At that time the horse was running as if in full flight, yet Sun was as swift as a monkey. Jizi did not realize what had happened, but the applause from the spectators was like the sound of lightning, and there was none who could compare to the speed of Sun.
3) According to the Tianjin Compendium of Cultural History 《天津文史資料彙編》 and Wudang Magazine's 《武當》 1995年9期 edition，Sun Lu Tang's light skills could chase down a good horse。In his early years he followed Guo Yun Shen across many provinces in the north and south, and Guo often rode a horse with Sun holding on to the horse's tail, following behind in the dust. He also had the skill of "hanging a painting on the wall" 牆上掛畫之功. In Mukden (Manchuria)，he once had a challlenge match in the Governor's mansion，at that time the walls of the hall were as glossy as a mirror, and rose up high perpendicular to the floor. Sun leapt onto the fall and remained there with his back to the wall for 1-2 minutes before returning to the ground.
What was even more surprising was his ability not to leave tracks in the snow 踏雪無痕之功. Once Sun lived in Tianjin，and it was snowing heavily，with the snow half a foot deep in the courtyard，when the sun came up，the snowing had stopped，Sun admired the beautiful snow，and demonstrated his Taiji set. The observers were very surprised as he did not leave any footprints in the snow where he had stepped.
4) According to the Zhejiang Wulin Events 《浙江武林紀事》，In the spring of 1931 Sun was travelling in Hangzhou and walking towards the West Lake with his disciples Gao Zhen Dong 高振東 and Cao Yan Hai 曹晏海. He was playing with his disciples and asked them to chase him，with the one who was able to catch him being the winner and he would teach them a secret technique. Although Sun looked as those he was walking without effort, his disciples could not catch up with him.
5) According to the Stories of the Northern Guoshu Masters 《北派國術家掌故》，“In the year of the Emperor Guangxu 光緒，there was a Sun Lu Tang from Puyang 蒲陽，who was known for his bravery and skills in pugulism, and was undefeated. He was well trained in Xingyiquang, Baguazhang, Taiji which were the pinnacle of the internal arts，he also took studied the external arts, and was able to meld them together, so that he was like a god, and was one of the most accomplished artists during the Qing period. He was known as the first hand under heaven.
There was once a palace guard - Big Nose Li who heard of his reputation, who hoped to arrange a fight with him.Those who knew of this tried to persuade him, that Sun had exquisite form, and even the devils and gods found it hard to deal with him, and that he should not have an open competition. Li thus visited Sun privately, at that time Sun had heard from Su Wang of Li's reputation, and he had said that Li was gracious and humble, and asked Sun to decline the request. Li suspected that Sun's reputation had no basis in fact, and asked him three times for a match, so Sun finally agreed. The two faced each other, with the observers shouting encouragement, once the signal was given, Li had not yet began to move when he fell out of the ring, for Sun had already come behind Li. The observers did not see Sun move, it was like a spirit. Li left, humiliated and regretting his actions.
6) According to the Study of Sun Style Martial Arts 《孫氏武學研究》 Yang Shi Huan 楊世垣 remembers，“In the 12th year of the Republic (1923) I was in Nankai in Tianjin, attending university, and in that year I began to study Xingyiquan, Baguazhang and Taijiquan under Sun Lu Tang. At that time Master Sun came to Tianjin one to two times a month for 3 to five days. Sun often mentioned that to study the internal arts one needed a solid educational foundation. Perhaps for this reason, my kung fu brothers at the time especially respected me.
6) According to the Study of Sun Style Martial Arts 《孫氏武學研究》 Yang Shi Huan 楊世垣 remembers，“In the 12th year of the Republic (1923) I was in Nankai in Tianjin, attending university, and in that year I began to study Xingyiquan, Baguazhang and Taijiquan under Sun Lu Tang. At that time Master Sun came to Tianjin one to two times a month for 3 to five days. Sun often mentioned that to study the internal arts one needed a solid educational foundation. Perhaps for this reason, my kung fu brothers at the time especially respected me.
During the winter of the second year, Master wanted me to accompany him to Beijing, and to stay at his house. I woke up early in the morning, and there was heavy snow, and the courtyard was completely white. Coming out of the bedchamber, I saw Master Sun carrying a lantern coming from the back courtyard, he looked at the snow as though he could not bear to step on it.
"This is a silver carpet from heaven." After his he finished speaking, he leapt up and reached the steps of the Northern rooms. I noted his footprint, and on the same day I used a ruler to measure it and it was thirty feet, five inches. After this I told my brothers that Master had been able to jump thirty feet carrying a lantern, and another also said that Guo Yun Shen had been able to leap 30 feet.
After Master heard this, he denied this and said that he was only able to jump 20 feet. Having said this he used the tiger form to jump and my brother 龔劍堂 used a ruler to measure, and indeed it was 20 feet 5 inches。 I was bothered by this, why didn't Master jump further? Afterwards my brother 李玉琳 said to me, “This is Master's way of honoring his teacher. You used Master Guo to compare so Master deliberately did not leap past 30 feet. So do not pick on the details."
7) According to the 1933 publication of Lao's explorations, 《老氏探賾》, Sun's Taoist Studies, Lightness Skills and Martial arts were of the highest level，and none in the modern era can compare to him.
Zhao Bilu 趙 壁塵, a well known Daoist Teacher （杜心五的道學老師）reckons that he is approaching the Dao, while Sun resided in the Dao, and felt that he was the only one in modern times to achieve the Dao through martial arts. “I study the spirit, but am on the path, and have experienced many hardships, but this is not something that one who does not study the Dao can understand, I have many friends who have an interest in the spiritual studies, but many have dropped out halfway, in recent times only Sun has achieved a golden body, and is the only one who I know who was able to enter the Dao through the martial arts. I follow the Longmen path 龍門，while Master Sun is of Wenshi 文始，although the lineage is different, they are the same”.
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